Masquerade
by ArwenGreenEyes
Summary: A short and sweet little piece. Contains major spoilers for Breaking Dawn.


**This is my first Twilight piece, so please be gentle...I might continue it, if it's well recieved. I hope the characters come out as themselves. Mostly fluff, I know, but it's a sort of testing of the waters, so reviews are much appreciated!**

**Arwen**

"Renesmee!" I called up the stairs, getting only a giggle in response. Despite the fact that I could flit up the stairs and back down in less time than it would take a human to blink, somehow it felt more satisfying to stand at the foot of the stairs and yell, just as my mother had done when I was a human. In response, Renesmee projected me an image of Alice fussing with her dark hair, and Rosalie picking out a perfect outfit, rummaging through the cavernous closets of the Cullens' house. I sighed. As Renesmee had gotten older, her ability to communicate with others telepathically—it was a rough word, but the closest we could find to describe her ability—had gotten stronger. She was able to project now, without touch to aid her, an ability she wielded mercilessly, especially with Edward. He had been wrapped around Renesmee's little finger before she had been born.

The years had obviously passed Edward and me by without change, but our daughter had grown rapidly. She was eight years old now, in human years, but she looked eighteen. It was just as Nahuel had described, and she was lovelier than I had ever been able to imagine, even with the cold, beautiful perfection of immortality surrounding me. Renesmee possessed that special spark of life that had initially drawn Edward to me, and that, blended with the blinding splendor of a vampire, produced the most exquisite being that ever had a heartbeat.

The annoying thing was, my old friend Jacob shared my opinion to the letter. I had grown to appreciate his constant attention and protection of my daughter, but there were limits to my patience. Thankfully, I couldn't read his thoughts, as Edward could—if I'd been able to sense the feelings behind Jacob's dark eyes when he looked at Renesmee, especially lately, I would probably try to break his jaw. Again. And then Renesmee would be angry with me, because just as she had when she was a baby, she thought of Jacob as hers.

I heard the purr of a car in the driveway, along with the thunderous heartbeat that only meant one thing. The front door crashed open, without a knock.

"Bella!"

Jacob.

"Where's Nessie?" he asked. He was excited, I could tell from the flush in his cheeks.

"Well, Fido, looks like you clean up nice," said Rosalie from the top of the stairs.

"Can't say the same for you, Blondie," retorted Jacob from the bottom.

I sighed. Edward had given Jacob permission to date Renesmee two months ago—formal permission, that is. They were together all the time anyway. In any case, they had taken full advantage of this new status in their relationship, going out together on the weekends and studying together on weeknights. Just like he had when I was human, Edward insisted that his daughter pay attention to her education, despite the fact that there were certainly more interesting things going on in her world than pronouns or the life cycle of an amoeba. After much debate—mostly between Rosalie and Edward—Renesmee had enrolled at Forks High when she was six as Vanessa Wolfe, our niece. Rosalie, in her doting-aunt way, had thought Renesmee should go straight to Harvard, but of course, the let-her-have-a-normal-life side of the argument won.

I looked Jacob over as he waited for Renesmee. There was a masquerade ball at the high school tonight, in place of the annual winter ball. Renesmee and Jacob were going as Antony and Cleopatra. Jacob wore a Roman-style toga, complete with sandals and sword. He didn't look half-bad…for a werewolf. I made a face as Renesmee corrected me mentally. Shape-shifter.

"Nice skirt," commented Emmett from the living room.

"The things I do for love," muttered Jacob, well aware that we could all still hear him.

"Ready?" chirped Alice from the head of the stairs.

"Of course," I replied with a smile. Alice ushered Renesmee onto the first step so we could all admire her, standing back with a smug smile.

I had to admit, Alice knew her stuff when it came to beauty. Granted, she had pretty good raw material to work with. Renesmee's hair was intricately braided, her skin dusted with what looked like gold, giving her a luminous glow. Alice had expertly applied eyeliner in the Egyptian style, making Renesmee's warm brown eyes even more remarkable. There was a turquoise-and-gold collar about her slender neck, and a golden armlet in the shape of a snake, with diamonds for eyes. The dress was white and simple, draping over her body in a demure fashion that was sure to satisfy Edward…yet revealing her slender arms and the shape of her lithe body enough to please Jacob. Or stun him. He'd turned into a statue at the bottom of the stairs, toga forgotten, eyes only for Renesmee. I had to smile a little. After all, Jacob's happily-ever-after included the one person I loved more than anything in the world.

"Wow," he breathed.

"Very eloquent," said Rose dryly from beside me. She'd flitted down the stairs before Renesmee's entrance.

I reached over and closed Jacob's mouth for him. Renesmee projected me an image of her father coming from the other room, clearly irritated, and I obligingly shielded Jake's mind from Edward. As I well knew, Jacob's manners only extended so far. He was a werewolf, after all. Shape-shifter. Whatever.

"Thanks, Mom," Renesmee murmured, gliding down the stairs to take Jacob's arm. She smiled at me, then looked at Jacob. "Despite the fact that Antony and Cleopatra's romance ended very badly, I'm glad you convinced me to dress…less conspicuously…than I wanted."

While I was puzzling over this piece of information, Emmett crowed, "You willingly dressed up in a skirt!"

"Hey, Emmett, have you beaten Bells at arm-wrestling lately?" shot back Jacob with a grin. Renesmee rolled her eyes expressively and tugged at his arm.

"The ball starts in ten minutes," she said in her lovely voice. Jake followed behind her as she towed him to the door, with no more resistance than a rag-doll.

"We won't be late, will we, Shortie?" Jacob asked Alice.

Alice slid down the banister and hopped down the last few steps. "No. You'll be early, actually."

"See, Ness? No need to worry."

"I just don't want to miss anything," said Renesmee.

"Your wish is my command," Jake replied, only half-teasing. He turned to me. "Well, Bells, I'd better get Miss Wolfe to the ball."

"Have her back by eleven," said Edward by my elbow. He slid his arms around my waist. Unlike most teenagers, Renesmee didn't seem to mind our public displays of affection. She understood better than most that, well, Edward was only seventeen.

"Eleven?" Renesmee looked at Edward, and I knew she was projecting an image of how much fun she would have if only she were allowed a little bit later…

"Fine. Twelve," sighed Edward, resigned to the fact that he was powerless against his daughter's wiles. Renesmee smiled her brilliant smile and took Jacob's hand and led him out the door. Edward kissed my neck.

"Don't think I don't know that you were shielding him," he murmured into my ear, eliciting a thrill of shivers down my spine. I spun and kissed him hungrily. Even after eight years of immortality, each kiss was like the first time, sending shocks of lightning down my limbs. My eyes were golden now—the thirst for blood had faded a little—but my hunger for Edward was as strong as ever. And kissing was much more interesting when you didn't have to breathe.

"Would you rather me let you see everything he's thinking?" I whispered. As I spoke, I pushed my shield away from me, letting Edward see everything I was thinking. At the moment, most of it involved him. Maybe if I was human I would have blushed, but perhaps not. I had moved beyond embarrassment long ago.

"To the cottage?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

I captured his mouth again for a long moment before responding. "Mmmm," I said, my mind whirling deliciously. "Let's go."

"Knock down some walls this time!" called Emmett.

Edward chuckled. He kissed my neck again, brushing his fangs against my marble skin. "Do you know what your daughter wanted to be at first for the masquerade ball?"

I spun to face him. "No."

He smiled my favorite crooked smile. "A vampire."

I laughed a little and the laugh turned into a low growl at the look in Edward's liquid amber eyes. He swept me into one arm and opened the door with the other. I kissed him fiercely as the wind rushed by, and the bright moon faded overhead as we entered the forest, on our way to another perfect moment in my forever.


End file.
